Fighting Fate
by AnAmericanHero
Summary: His parents had always told him that he'd screw up any relationship he got into. He had shrugged it off at the time. Now, now he has to fight to get back the one man he loves. AU. Human!countries.
1. Chapter 1

_Ring…Ring…Ring. Click. Hello, you've reached Arthur Kirkland. I can't get to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep. Beep._

He sighed, staring out the window at the night sky. "Arthur, it's me. I'm sorry, all right? Please, just pick up the phone." Another sigh, "Call me back, ok?"

Alfred hung up the phone and tossed it aside. That was the third time he'd called today. And about the thousandth since he had "screwed up" last week.

"C'mon man! I didn't even screw up that bad!" He groaned, falling limply onto his couch, face burying into a pillow. All he had done was buy a girl a drink last weekend. That's it! She was broke and he was trying to be nice! But of course, a drunk Arthur had to blow it completely out of proportion. What had started out as a small spat had turned into a full blown argument, and now Arthur wouldn't even talk to him. He rolled over and stared at the ceiling. "Now what do I do?"

After a minute, a thought occurred to the distraught American. "I'll just go visit him! If he won't talk over the phone, he'll have to talk to me in person!"

He jumped off the couch and hurried into his room, shoving clothes into a small suitcase he had retrieved from the closet. Once he was finished, he zipped up his luggage, shrugged on an old bomber jacket, and raced out the door into the winter snow.

* * *

><p>He stared absently out the window of the plane, thinking back to the night at the bar, the night before Arthur had just up and left.<p>

Arthur had come to the States to spend Christmas with Al, and Al was planning to spend New Year's in England. They were both out of school at the moment and both had called in for time off from work. And everything seemed to be going fine. It's funny how things can turn around so fast. One minute, it's all laughs and the next his boyfriend is cursing and about ready to kill the American. All he had done was buy a girl a drink. She was alone, distraught, cold, and broke.

…Wait, that's kind of how he was now…

He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. It was all a misunderstanding on Arthur's part. He hadn't been hitting on her. He was just trying to be nice to someone who was obviously down on her luck. She had looked like she needed just one person to say "Hey, it'll be all right." This was the only time he was going to curse his hero complex.

He shoved the thought from his mind. There had to be some way to fix this. He'd figure something out on the way there. It's not exactly like it's a short flight from New York to London, so he had plenty of time to think.

Unfortunately, he started to drift off after 45 minutes and was completely asleep before they'd been in the air an hour.

* * *

><p>He awoke about an hour before the plane was scheduled to land, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. He had had a nightmare centering around Arthur abandoning him for someone else. The very thought scared the American to no end. He wiped at his eyes and looked out the window.<p>

There's no way he'd do that…right?

* * *

><p>Alfred wasn't nervous until the plane was getting ready to land. He really hadn't thought this through. Taking a steadying breath as the plane touched down on the runway, Al steeled himself for what was going to come. He had called Arthur before he boarded the plane and told him that he was coming, but his gut told him that he was going to be on his own until he tracked down his M.I.A. boyfriend. After a bit of a fiasco with customs, Alfred was on his way. He flagged down a cab and gave the driver the address, settling down in the back seat for the long drive.<p>

He found himself thinking again as he watched the scenery pass. He couldn't understand why Arthur lived out in the country. It didn't seem to be very convenient when his college was nearly an hour's drive away. But it was definitely a relaxing atmosphere. At least it was normally.

Alfred had hoped that the drive would help to relax him, or at least calm his nerves a bit. Instead it had the exact opposite effect. The higher the meter in the cab ticked, the more nervous he got. Before they had been on the road 15 minutes, Al's stomach had worked itself into tight knots. By 25 minutes, he felt like he was going to be sick. The 35 minute mark found him laying in the back seat of the car, wishing the drive would just hurry up and be over.

When the cab finally pulled to a stop, Al climbed out quickly, dragging his suitcase with him. He paid the driver and thanked him, backing away as the cab drove off. Spinning around, the American smiled nervously at the small country house. He shook his head, walking with determination up the front walk, the stairs, and knocked on the door.

Silence.

He knocked again, harder this time.

Still no answer.

Sighing, he sat down on the front steps to wait. As the winter wind picked up around him, he started to reminisce.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Hey everyone! So, this is the first fanfic I've ever let anyone other than my close friends read. I'd really like some feedback! And I know I'm not a great writer, so don't be afraid to really let me have it! I'm sure I can take it. And the feedback will help me when I'm working on chapter 2!

Until then...

Later y'all!


	2. Chapter 2

Alfred sat on the front steps of Arthur's house as the winter wind whipped his hair around. He didn't even notice the cold. He was too far lost in his own thoughts.

It's funny how life changes, how a simple Tumblr follow can seem to alter an entire course of events.

* * *

><p><strong>3 years ago…<strong>

Alfred, in his sophomore year of high school, stared at the message that had been delivered to his email.

"'the-british-wizard started following you.'" He read aloud, staring at the screen a bit shocked. "No way!"

He jumped out of his chair, pacing around his bedroom. "Did he really follow me back? There's no way. Maybe it was a mistake?"

He shook his head and sat back down, pulling up a tab and opening Tumblr. Lo and behold, there was the notification, right on his dashboard, staring him in the face.

"Well, might as well thank him…" He pulled up the other's ask box.

_Theherosblog: Thx 4 the follow back! 8D I luv ur blog, dood!_

He sent it and sat back smiling. After a minute, his stomach growled and he stood back up from his desk, wandering out toward the kitchen. "Well, might as well get something to eat."

When he returned 10 minutes later with a bag of chips, there was a message waiting for him. He sat back down and opened it.

_The-british-wizard: :/ You're welcome, and thank you. But I had really hoped that you used proper English when talking to people._

Al frowned, and typed back his response.

_Theherosblog: Sorry? I don't normally unless I'm posting something._

_the-british-wizard: Quite all right. Thank you for switching._

_Theherosblog: No prob, dude!_

_The-british-wizard: Let me take a guess, you're American._

_Theherosblog: Yeah. And I already know your from Britain._

_The-british-wizard: Yes, I am. Is there a problem with that? And it's you're, not your._

_Theherosblog: Huh? Oh, whoops. Guess I missed that. ^^; No, there's no problem! You're (Haha! Got it this time!) the first person I've talked to that isn't from America. Well, or Canada._

_The-british-wizard: Am I really? Well, I guess I should be honored._

_Theherosblog: *laughs* If you wanna be._

_The-british-wizard: It's want to._

_Theherosblog: …_

_The-british-wizard: What?_

_Theherosblog: Nothing._

_The-british-wizard: All right. Well, I have an exam to study for. Good night._

_Theherosblog: K. G'night! Oh! Can we keep talking tomorrow?_

_The-british-wizard: I suppose. If you want._

_Theherosblog: Cool! Talk to you later, dude!_

* * *

><p>And that's how it all started. Very simple. Very innocent.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>A few weeks later…<strong>

Alfred had gone to a party with a bunch of his high school friends. After a bored hour of videogames followed by countless horror movies, the boys had started a desperate game of Truth or Dare. Well, it was really just Dare. They were trying to out-do each other, the dares becoming more and more risky. Finally, it came Alfred's turn to be subjected to what was starting to come close to torture. The blond Canadian next to him, a boy named Matthew, seemed to take pity on the American.

"I dare you to prank call someone."

The other boys booed and jeered.

"That's no dare!"

"Come on, Matthew! You gave him an easy one!"

Al laughed. "A dare's a dare guys." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, but before he could dial a random number, Matthew snagged it out of his hand.

"I'll dial the number." He typed in a long series of numbers before hitting the call button and handing it back to Alfred.

He grinned, holding the phone up to his ear.

"_Hullo?" _A tired British voice answered.

"Uh…" Alfred froze.

There was a sigh. _"If this was supposed to be a prank call, I dare say you aren't very good at this."_

"Hey!"

"_Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go. Good bye." Click._

He pulled the phone away and stared at it.

"Nice job, Al."

"That was a fail."

"You didn't do it. You know what that means."

Alfred shrugged off the comments, and took his "punishment" for failing to complete the dare. The rest of the night, he tried to figure out why he hadn't been able to go through with the prank, but no matter how long he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out.

* * *

><p>The next day, after he got home, he sat down and stared at his phone. He couldn't figure out why the call from the previous night was still bothering him. On a whim, he found the number and called the Briton back.<p>

After a moment, the same voice picked up.

"_Is this the same guy from yesterday?"_

"Yeah, it's me."

"_What do you want? Why don't you just leave me alone?"_

"I called because I wanted to apologize."

"_Oh?"_

"Yeah. So…sorry. I called on a dare."

"_Ah. No worries, then, I guess."_

"Thanks."

"_I guess I'll be going now."_

"Wait!"

"…_Yes?"_

"…Um…do you think we could keep in contact?" Once he said that, he realized how creepy that sounded. "I'm not trying to be a creeper! I swear! It's just…I don't really have anyone to talk to and…"

There was a pause on the other side of the line, followed by a sigh. _"Why would you want to talk to someone you don't even know?"_

"I-I don't know…"

Another pause.

"_Well, I guess no harm will come of it. But I would prefer to keep contact some other way."_

"Would email work? Or I have a Tumblr."

"_You have a Tumblr?"_

"Yeah. Theherosblog."

There was a surprised sputtering sound. _"That's you?"_

"Huh?"

"_I'm the-british-wizard!"_

Alfred's eyes grew wide. "Seriously?"

The Briton laughed on the other end of the line. _"Such a strange coincidence."_

"Yeah. My name's Alfred, by the way. Alfred Jones."

"_Arthur Kirkland. I guess I should say it's a pleasure to meet you. Again."_

* * *

><p>The following weeks and months were a series of messages, texts, and calls. By the end of the six month mark, Alfred felt like he had known Arthur for years rather than just half a year. But he also found that their conversations kept moving toward actually, finally, getting to meet in real life.<p>

"_Alfred, you're still in high school. There's no way you can come all the way over here on your own."_

He grumbled. "Come on! It's not like I'm a little kid!"

"_I'm not arguing with you."_

"Fine." He paused. "Hey Artie?"

"_It's Arthur. But yes?"_

"Do you have Skype? And a webcam?"

"_Yeah. Why?"_

"Can you get on?"

"_Of course. But Alfred…"_

"I used the same email that I gave you to register. Add me!"

"_You want to talk now?"_

"Yeah! I'm already logged on."

"_Of course you are. Hang on."_

"Ok."

"_All right. I found you. I'm hanging up now."_

"Ok! Later Artie!"

_Click._

Al waited a minute before Skype alerted him to a new message. Clicking on the tab, he smiled and accepted Arthur's contact request.

_Alfred Jones: Hey Artie!_

_Arthur Kirkland: How many times do I have to tell you? It's Arthur._

_Alfred Jones: Aw, c'mon! Don't be like that!_

_Arthur Kirkland: …I'm assuming that, since you asked if I had a webcam, you would like to video chat._

_Alfred Jones: Yeah! Hang on. I'll set it up!_

He clicked the icon and waited for Arthur to pick up.

"_Hello Alfred."_ Arthur's voice played through his computer speakers, but the video didn't start.

"Dude, why no video?"

"_I really don't feel it necessary."_

"That's not fair! You can see me!"

The screen flickered before a picture of a blond male took its place. His hair was messy and his eyebrows were a bit on the large side, but what struck Alfred was Arthur's bright green eyes.

"_Hello again Alfred."_

He stared, rather dumbly, at the screen.

Arthur laughed. _"Every time we have a first, you always seem to freeze up."_

Al sputtered. "I do not."

"_Yes, you do. I don't know about when I followed you on Tumblr. But the first time you called me, you froze. Our first video chat, you hesitate. Is there something you're not telling me?"_

He shook his head. "It's nothing!"

"_Oh?"_

There was a knock on Alfred's bedroom door. His mother called through the barrier. "Alfred, can you come out here, please?"

"Hang on a sec, Arthur."

"_All right. I'll be waiting when you get back."_

Al nodded and muted his microphone, hurrying out of the room. "Yeah, mom?"

"Alfred, dear. Who are you talking to?" The blond woman leaned against the wall across from Alfred's bedroom door.

"My friend Arthur." Al's eyebrows drew together.

Her blue eyes looked troubled. "Your face is red. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." He looked away from her. He didn't know why, but he couldn't make himself look into her worried eyes any longer.

"If you say so." She sighed. "I just need to tell you something."

He glanced up slightly. "What?"

"Avoid a relationship until you're more mature. I know you have trouble picking up on what everyone else is feeling, so please, try to hold off."

Al finally raised his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, mom." He shrugged. "Can I go back to my conversation now?"

"Sure, honey." She walked over and gave him a hug. "I'm going to sleep. Good night."

He returned the hug. "Sleep well, mom."

Alfred watched as his mother walked away before returning to his conversation.

* * *

><p><strong>~Present day~<strong>

Fate really seemed to be against him today. The temperature was dropping, the gray winter sky was darkening, and he was cold, tired, and hungry. Checking his phone, Al found that he had been sitting there for over half an hour.

''Where is he?" He sighed, popping the collar of his bomber jacket up to cover his neck.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, feeling a small plastic square dig into his left hand. Unable to remember what he had left in his pocket, his fished it out. A small picture of himself smiled back at him.

His fake I.D.

It was the only reason he had even been at the bar that night.

Resisting the urge to chuck it across the lawn, he shoved it back in his pocket with a bit more force than necessary.

He leaned back against the door, resigned to sit there until Arthur got back.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Well, here's chapter 2. I'm not sure how I managed to get this out so quickly, other than the fact that I'm procrastinating on my law homework. *shrugs* Oh well. I'll get it done later.

And I have to thank my followers on Tumblr for essentially beta-ing the chapters before I post them! Everyone who gave me feedback, or even bothered to read these when I posted them, you guys are amazing! And you know who you are!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm back guys ^^ Well, yeah. I explain a little bit at the end of the chapter so, for now, on with the chapter!

* * *

><p>The more time passed, the more Alfred started to think that Arthur wasn't going to even come home. Glancing again at his phone, he sighed and went back to his thoughts. They at least gave him a slight reprieve from everything.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>~Beginning of Junior Year~<strong>

"You what?!" Al yelled, slamming his locker door shut.

Matthew stared down at his shoes, scared to look his now angered best friend in the eyes. "I-I said I d-dialed that number on purpose. B-back when we were doing t-those dares."

"So you intentionally made me call Arthur?!"

Matt nodded. "I-I'm sorry! I-I-I was going t-to tell you earlier, b-but you s-seemed so happy afterward…"

The American's anger broke and he smiled. "Thanks."

"A-Al, I…huh?"

"I said thanks." He wrapped an arm around Matthew's shoulders and shook him roughly.

"R-really?"

"Yeah, dude! Me and Arthur are totally cool now! I'm still trying to convince him to let me come visit, but I don't think I'm getting anywhere."

Matt smiled. "I might be able to help you with that."

"Oh really?"

"Yep. Our families are old friends. I think I could pull some strings."

Alfred's eyes lit up. "Could you really?! Dude, that would be so awesome!"

"Well, let's get moving. We don't want the bus to leave without us."

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>Matthew watched as Al ran around his room, collecting clothes and other necessities and shoving them in a suitcase. The American chattered excitedly to his Canadian friend, thanking him every few minutes. Alfred didn't know how he had managed it, but Matthew had managed to convince both Arthur and the American's own parents to let him go to England for a few weeks over the summer before he started his senior year.<p>

Once he was done, Al dropped down on his bed between his suitcase and his best friend. "I still don't know how you did this, but seriously dude, you're amazing!"

Matt laughed. "I get it, Al. And I'm not going to tell you."

"AW!" Alfred fell back dramatically on the bed. "Why not?!"

His face turned a tad red. "You don't need to know."

The blond American sighed. "If you say so."

And Alfred had dropped the subject…for about ten minutes…

* * *

><p>The memory had made him laugh, especially now that he knew what Matthew had promised to get him over here the first time.<p>

His phone rang in his pocket and he pulled it out hurriedly, hopefully, only to drop his head and sigh.

"Hey Mattie, what's-"

"_Where are you?!"_

Al pulled the phone away from his ear. Had Matt just _**yelled**_ at him?

"Dude, I'm fine. I'm at Arthur's."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"You don't know where he is, do you?"

The Canadian sighed. _"He should be home soon."_

"Cool! I've been sitting here for hours! Do you know how cold it is here this time of year? Oh, hey! I see him!"

"_Wait! AL!"_

The American hung up, jumping up off the steps and ran down the front walk only to stop dead in his tracks. If he hadn't hung up on Matt, he might have heard the warning the blond had been trying to give him.

* * *

><p>AN:Dun dun dun dun...And here's the next installment! I'm sorry it took so long and the chapter's so short. Life has literally been bouncing between family emergency and vacation for the last God-only-knows-how-many months.

Pureh, you got it right! Matthew, innocent little Matthew, made Alfred prank call Arthur on purpose! I applaud you for picking up on that ^^

And it looks like I'll either have a whole lot of time to work on Fighting Fate over the next few months or very little. It depends on what my Cardiologist says over the next couple of weeks.

Anyway ^^;

Later, y'all.


	4. Chapter 4

God, he wished he had stopped and listened to Matt, because there…

Walking down the road…

Arm in arm…

Laughing…

Was Arthur and a blond man Alfred recognized from his first trip to England.

The American could feel the tears stinging at his eyes as he turned and grabbed his suitcase roughly. He drug it back out to the street and spared on last hurt look back at his cheating boyfriend. Arthur had finally noticed him and made a move to run toward him, only to be stopped by his companion.

"Francis! What are you-?!"

The Frenchman had effectively stopped Arthur's complaint by pulling the confused Brit into a kiss.

Al had seen enough. He spun around quickly and stormed away from them, back toward London. He didn't care about the approaching storm. He didn't care about how late it was getting. He didn't care that he no longer had somewhere to stay. He didn't care about Arthur behind him, yelling at him to turn around and for Francis to let him go. All he wanted was somewhere he could sit and drown what he had just seen.

* * *

><p>The American found himself in a pub hours later, downing anything the bartender put in his hand. He had managed to find a cheap room a few blocks away and was now intently focused on drinking himself into oblivion.<p>

"Another!"

Instead of the drink he had wanted, the bartender placed a check on the bar in front of him. Al stared at it, not quite comprehending.

"I think it's time you go home, sir."

He frowned. He hadn't had that much to drink, had he? He pulled some cash out and dropped it on the paper before standing and wobbling his way out the door.

* * *

><p>It was a miracle Al had made it back to his hotel room. He had had to crawl his way back there, not that he really remembered that part. Honestly, he couldn't remember leaving the pub. All he knew when he woke up next to the toilet was that his entire being hurt, his stomach was effectively empty, and he wasn't entirely sure where he was.<p>

After some time spent staring blankly at the bathroom wall, he managed to piece together part of his evening…and what had led up to it. With a resigned sigh, he heaved himself upright and stumbled into the bedroom. One look at the clock told him the day was already mostly over, not that he felt like going much of anywhere anyway. He fell back on the bed with another sigh, reaching for his phone.

_Hey Mattie? [Sent 7:15 pm]_

_Hi Al. Hanging in there all right? [Received 7:18 pm]_

_No. Got a ? 4 u. [Sent 7:19 pm]_

_What? [Received 7:21 pm]_

_I'm stuck here 4 2 weeks. WTF am I supposed 2 do? [Sent 7:22 pm]_

_I don't know. Try to fix things? [Received 7:25 pm]_

With a frustrated yell, which only succeeded in worsening his hangover, he threw his phone across the room. There's no way he'd be able to fix anything as it was. He had flown all the way over here to do just that and look what it got him!

That brief conversation he had with his mother years ago drifted back through his head. As much as he hated to admit it, she had been right. Maybe he was too immature and oblivious to hold down a real relationship. The next sound he made was one of resignation as he rolled back off the bed and retrieved his phone from where it had come to rest behind a hotel chair.

_Mattie, am I pathetic? Cuz I sure feel that way right now. [Sent 7:47 pm]_

_What makes you say that? [Received 7:52 pm]_

_Something my mom told me years ago. [Sent 7:54 pm]_

_Which was? [Received 7:57 pm]_

_Not something I wanna talk about. [Sent 7:58 pm]_

_Then how am I supposed to help? [Received 8:03 pm]_

_I don't know! Just, answer my question? [Sent 8:06 pm]_

_Fine. No, Alfred, you are not pathetic. You're one of the bravest guys I know, even if you do manage to do some incredibly stupid things sometimes. [Received 8:10 pm]_

_Now, what I suggest is that you text or call or do something to get in touch with Arthur and actually talk things out properly. [Received 8:13 pm]_

_But, you don't know what I saw, dude! [Sent 8:14 pm]_

_Then tell me. [Received 8:16 pm]_

_He was with that Francis guy. Do I really need to say any more? [Sent 8:18 pm]_

_I guess not. But I still say contact him. [Received 8:21 pm]_

_All right, fine. After I get dinner. [Sent 8:22 pm]_

_Ok. Let me know how it goes. [Received 8:24 pm]_

_Can do. Later, bro. [Sent 8:25 pm]_

_Bye, Al. [Received 8:26 pm]_

The none-too-happy American, resigned to getting something to eat, forced himself to get up from the bed once again. Technically, he wasn't really hungry, but he knew not eating wasn't going to help his situation any. So twenty minutes later found him showered, in clean clothes, and getting directions to a nearby pub for a late dinner. He looked up at the sky as he left the hotel, wishing he had thought to bring an umbrella or at least a coat. The rain didn't look like it was going to hold off for much longer.

Sure enough, he had barely made it a block before the clouds open up and poured, soaking him to the skin in a matter of minutes. Yet, he trudged on, ignoring the inclement weather. That is, until something stopped it.

The blond turned quickly, a surprised look turning quickly into a glare.

"Francis."

"We need to talk, American."

* * *

><p>AN: I'm so sorry guys. I really didn't abandon this story. It's just, between health problems of my own and my family and my last year of community college and the ensuing workload, I just simply haven't had time XP But I'm taking the next year off to try and get my health back up to par before going off to university, so I will, quite literally, have nothing but time to work on this.

As it stands, I'm not sure how Fighting Fate will be. It may only be another handful of chapters or it might be longer. I don't know. I've never been very good at ending my stories. But I do hope all of you will hang with me until the end.

Thanks to everyone for their reviews over the past year of my absence. It really means a lot that, even though I wasn't updating, there were still people who wanted to see it through. So, truly, thank you.

The next chapter should be up soon. Just so you know, from here on, I don't have anyone to beta. So, please, feel free to point out anything that might be wrong with it. Constructive criticism is always welcome!


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